Page 66 of Darkness I Become
Cade pulled her back down into his arms and kissed the top of her head.
“Darling,” he said gently, “if they were going to do something about it, they would have by now. It’s been months.” He stroked her hair away from her face. “And I’ll protect you. No matter what happens, or who comes knocking, or what it costs. I promised you.”
She relaxed a little against him. “You better. Because I’m fulfilling my end of the bargainprettywell lately.”
He laughed. “I’ll give you that. Anyway, we didn’t find Ashburn right away. We put as much distance between us and the Delta as we could first. And despite what came after, I’ve never regretted leaving. Or killing my father.”
“You don’t miss running water and central heating?” Asha mused, tracing over his snake tattoo again.
“Sure. But out here, I’m free. Not just a chess piece in the game of people whose identities I’m not even allowed to know.”
“Free to die of starvation,” she countered. “Free to be sold into slavery. Free to be shot by a gang member. Free to be eaten by a bear. Is it freedom if even your basic needs are a daily struggle?”
Cade’s small, ironic smile was back. “I never said I was a philosopher, my angel. Just a man trying to determine his own destiny. What I always tell you is true for me too: we do what we have to do to survive. Whatever we have to. Whatever it leaves us with.”
Chapter 20
Cade declared the next day a day off to allow Asha to rest her ankle before they headed back to the Nest. They spent the day in bed together, cycling through sex, napping, and chatting, and Asha thought it was the best day she’d had in a long time…possibly ever. She’d never been able to completely relax with another person before, but Cade made it easy somehow. He didn’t expect her to be anything other than what she was, to contort herself to fit his expectations. He teased her, laughed with her, and held her like she was precious to him. He gave her space to let her guard down.
He’s also fucking amazing in bed, which doesn’t hurt.
“Sex and secrets time,” Cade insisted after their first round that day, a sly smile on his lips. “It’s your turn.”
“Give me a minute,” Asha replied breathlessly, flopping on top of her pillow as he chuckled. He’d folded her nearly in half on the bed and fucked her hard with her ankles on his shoulders until she’d come twice, helpless against him, before sating his own need for release and collapsing on top of her.
This is how good it can be,he’d whispered in her ear, still inside her.This is how it always should’ve been for you.
“I have no more secrets. You know them all.”
“That’s not true. When’s your birthday?”
Asha rolled her eyes. “I’d hardly call that a secret.”
“Then tell me.”
“No.”
“See, it qualifies.” His smile was annoyingly infectious.
“August tenth. Not that it matters, because I have no idea what day it is.”
The conversation flowed from there, with each of them revealing more of their ‘secrets’ in turns. Asha learned that Cade had turned thirty-two in January; he’d been into spy movies back at home; and his favourite colour was black (Asha argued it wasn’t a colour, and then he picked grey, to which she also objected).
Then she took his cock in her mouth and slowly, torturously, got him off. Cade had been worried that it might be triggering for her, but Asha was beyond that now. She liked being in control of his pleasure for a change, and she was pretty good at blowjobs, if she did say so herself.
“Shit, Asha,” he gritted out as she caressed his balls. “You’re way better at this than is fair.”
He dropped out of her mouth as she laughed, pleased by his approval. He groaned and added, “No. Keep going. Please.”
“Who’s begging now?” she teased, and he shot her a dark look.
“You will be, if you keep up the backtalk. Now, be a good girl and finish suckingsir’scock. I want to coat that pretty throat with my cum.”
With a sardonic raise of her eyebrows, Asha wrapped her lips around him again and continued sucking him, slow and measured, until he came in her mouth with a groan, and she swallowed him down.
“You owe me a secret,” Asha asked playfully a few minutes later, safely snuggled against him again. “What’s your biggest fear?”
She expected him to tease her, or say something unserious likespidersorheights.
